By: Alastair Bland Salmon populations are struggling on the West Coast despite laws meant to protect them. Some blame the Endangered Species Act, but others say federal agencies are to blame for failing to enforce regulations. Salmon are struggling to survive all along the … [Read more...]
SalmonAID News
New state water plan may force tighter conservation restrictions
By Carolyn Lochhead WASHINGTON — San Francisco faces potentially drastic cutbacks in its water supply, as state regulators proposed leaving more water in three Northern California rivers Thursday to protect wildlife in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta estuary, the linchpin of … [Read more...]
Federal water bills would harm our salmon
By Patty Unterman and Alice Waters Today, one of our state’s most iconic local foods, chinook salmon, is in critical danger, threatened by drought and Congress. This week, 39 leading Bay Area chefs and restaurant owners joined the Golden Gate Salmon Association in opposing antisalmon … [Read more...]
Can flooded rice fields be a solution in California water war?
By Tara Duggan California is the country’s second-largest rice producer, after Arkansas, and the $5 billion crop is particularly well suited to the Sacramento Valley’s clay soil. But that does little to ease the frustration fishers and ecologists feel as native salmon populations … [Read more...]
For the First Time in History, There Will be No Salmon at This Year’s Yurok Salmon Festival
By Hank Sims From the Yurok Tribe: For the first time in the event’s 54-year history, the Yurok Tribe had to remove salmon from the menu at this year’s Klamath Salmon Festival, because of the record low fish run. “This was a very difficult decision. We hope that all festival … [Read more...]
The Salmon’s Swim for Survival
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD There are two recent pieces of welcome news affecting the Pacific Northwest’s beleaguered salmon populations — battered by dams, habitat loss, timid government agencies and global warming. In one, a federal court in Seattle found that … [Read more...]
Federal court decision is a critical opportunity for salmon, energy and communities
By Bob Rees, Nancy Hirsh and Bill Arthur EARLIER this month, the U.S. District Court in Portland rejected the government’s latest plans for protecting endangered wild salmon from the harmful effects of the Columbia and Snake river dams. This is the fifth plan in a row to meet such a … [Read more...]
Melting snow, water releases and La Niña complicate California’s drought picture
By Ryan Sabalow and Phillip Reese rsabalow@sacbee.com See how Jerry Brown measured California's bleak snowpack in 2015 On April 1, 2015, Gov. Jerry Brown attended a routine snow survey at 6,800 feet in the Sierra Nevada, near Echo Summit on Highway 50 along the road to Lake Tahoe. The … [Read more...]
Judge: Salmon recovery requires big dam changes on Snake River
By Lynda V. Mapes Seattle Times environment reporter For the fifth time, a federal judge has called for an overhaul of Columbia and Snake River dam operations to preserve salmon and steelhead. In his ruling, he urged renewed consideration of Lower Snake River dam removal. A … [Read more...]
Faulty comparison on Delta water exports, flows to S.F. Bay
By Jon Rosenfield Special to The Bee Despite this winter’s storms, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is still reeling from decades of unsustainable water diversions and shortsighted management responses to the drought. Multiple indicators point to a crisis: California’s coastal salmon … [Read more...]